The Chilean documentary film Pena de muerte / Death Penalty by Tevo Díaz was awarded the prize for Best Film at the 24th edition of the Viña del Mar Film Festival which ran November 19-24 in the coastal Chilean city. The film receives a cash prize of $6,000 USD. The prize for Best Director with a cash prize of $4,000 went to the Brazilian filmmakers Maíra Bühler and Matias Mariani for their production Ela sonhou que eumorri / She Dreamed that I Died.

The Chilean film Las cosas como son / Things the Way They Are by Fernando Lavanderos, which just won the prize for Best Latin American Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, received the Special Jury Prize. The Argentinean film El Tramo by Juan Hendel received a Special Mention from the jury, while the Mexican documentary film Gimme the Power by Olallo Rubio won the Audience Award.

Cinema Tropical's programs are made possible with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support ofGovernor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. They are also supported, in part, by public funds from theNew York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the National Endowments for the Arts